Sold August 2023 Back to Archive

A vintage "Champion No.1" drilling machine, a bench-mounted, belt driven drill from the days before imported pillar drills with integral motors came onto the market.

Production started in the 1920s - it was considered a well-engineered machine and continued to be made after the war before finally being discontinued in the 1960s (although one would suspect that sales were drying up a decade or more earlier than that).

Offered here as something of a period piece, a throwback to an earlier time. It's a finely made, nicely proportioned machine which has been mounted on a board with a 1/8th horsepower single phase motor.

The belts are modern - it would be nicer to replace with the thin leather rope originally used - and pulleys are not currently fastened to their spindles so run loose.